Chapter 106: Mr. Mao

Startled, I whipped my head toward the source of the sound—it came from the window. Was it just my imagination? Didn’t they say there were no ghosts here? I hurriedly finished washing my hands and prepared to leave.

“Hee hee hee…” The sound came again.

This time, I was certain it wasn’t a hallucination.

I turned and slowly approached the window. The cold north wind swept in, howling as it chilled my face.

A small red face peeked out of the window—truly a flat, red face with hollowed-out eyes and mouth.

Was this… a paper figure?

“Hee hee hee…” A low chuckle issued from the cut-out mouth, indistinguishable from a human’s voice, just as Su Yi had described.

Suddenly, it flew through the window and pressed against my neck! Caught completely off guard, I immediately felt suffocated.

I tried to tear it off, but it clung tightly, as if fused to my skin—pulling only caused sharp pain.

The suffocation intensified; my brain was starved of oxygen, agony overwhelming me. This was bad.

I tried pressing a talismanic hand seal against it, but it had no effect. This seal worked against wandering spirits, and last time it didn’t affect a paper effigy either. This must be the same kind of entity!

I attempted to rush outside for help, but barely reached the door when the thing suddenly yanked me down to the floor and dragged me toward the window!

I struggled desperately, trying to grasp the stall door to halt my movement. But it was too fast—my hands slid across several doors without finding purchase. Last time, I’d dealt with a paper figure, but now, despite my size and strength, I couldn’t overcome this tiny paper creature!

It dragged me to the window and seemed poised to push me outside. The window was low—after all, the men’s restroom wasn’t designed to prevent peeping. That paper figure had killed someone last night; now it was coming for me!

I would never let it succeed.

I pulled out my phone, turned on the music at full volume, and threw it outside the restroom with all my strength. I didn’t know Wei Er Ye’s number, and Tu E probably didn’t have a phone either. This was my only option. Wei Er Ye was clever enough to notice something was wrong immediately.

The pressure on my neck suddenly intensified, and half my body was pressed outside the window! Gasping for air and dizzy from lack of oxygen, I gripped the glass with great effort, fighting desperately.

“Hee hee hee…” The low laughter came from my neck.

The sound seemed almost magical; my head suddenly felt heavy, my grip on the glass slackened, and my body began to slide out the window.

Terrible! I frantically tried to grab hold and stop myself, but I was falling rapidly. My heart shot up into my throat. In that instant, I sensed death closing in.

Suddenly, a strange force surged from beside me, halting my fall. Still gasping and struggling for breath, I looked up to see Tu E clutching my hand, holding me firmly.

He murmured a few incantations, and the binding around my neck vanished. I breathed deeply, relieved. The little red paper figure fluttered down, and I snatched it up.

While catching my breath, I glanced down and around, puzzled. Strange… I’d clearly felt myself falling and should have slid down some distance, yet I was still just beneath the window. Moreover, my arm hadn’t felt any sudden pull—I hadn’t even noticed being grasped.

Tu E pulled me hard upward; I grabbed the windowsill and climbed back inside the restroom. What a terrifying ordeal. The sudden near-fall was far more frightening than encountering any ghost.

I opened my hand—the paper figure was motionless, now just an ordinary scrap of paper.

“What is this?” I asked.

Tu E picked up the small paper figure and examined it. “This is a ‘Mao Lang.’”

“Mao Lang? What’s that?”

“It’s a funerary object used during Zhuang shamanic rituals.”

Tu E always sounded inscrutable when talking about these supernatural things.

“What’s it for?”

“It symbolizes shamans, gods, and ghosts during rituals. But this one seems to have been used alone, separately.”

I studied the little paper figure. This was what Su Yi had seen—not a ghostly child, but a paper effigy controlled by someone. So all along this was the culprit? Who was manipulating these paper figures?

I noticed Tu E frowning, deep in thought.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“The aura is weaker,” he said.

“Weaker? What do you mean?”

“On previous nights, besides the Mao Lang, I sensed ghostly energy too. But this time, there was no ghostly aura.”

“You said there were no ghosts. How could you sense ghostly energy?”

“There are no ghosts, but I sensed ghost energy,” he explained.

Alright, like smelling apples doesn’t mean there’s an apple nearby. I put away the now-defunct Mao Lang and planned to show it to Su Yi to confirm if it was the same thing she saw.

“Now we can be sure this is human-caused. Er Ye, can you investigate if those who suddenly fell ill, along with Su Yi, me, and the person who jumped last night, share any acquaintances—or even if they don’t know each other but might have provoked someone? This could be complicated.”

If it were the work of a ghost, the targets might be random. But if it’s human, there must be a reason. That Mao Lang clearly attacked me. I’ve only been here a few days and barely know anyone—who could be against me?

The only person I know with a grudge is Ge Zhikai, but he’s a coward and wouldn’t do something like this. If he wanted to harm me, he’d have done so back in middle school. Could it be someone Ge Zhikai knows? A certain face flickered in my mind.

“It will take some time,” Wei Er Ye said.

The next day was the weekend, and I was relieved not to have class. We finally found Xiao Qingwan, who had been missing all day. She looked exhausted.

She told us that ever since witnessing the person jump, Su Yi had been terrified and refused to leave the dorm. She wouldn’t even let Xiao Qingwan leave. Only because her roommate had been looking after her could she come out at all, but she’d soon have to return.

I took out the red paper figure and handed it to her. “Can you ask her if this is what she saw before?”

She looked at the red paper figure in confusion. “What is this?”

I told her everything exactly as it happened.

Xiao Qingwan was shocked. “Someone is using magic behind the scenes! That’s so cruel! Causing people’s souls to leave their bodies and fall ill is bad enough—now they’re killing people! What kind of grudge is this? Are you okay after last night?”

“I’m fine, but you need to be careful with Su Yi. Those Mao Langs have been following her—who knows if they’ll try to harm her,” I said.

She nodded. “I understand.”

“Also, ask her if she has any grudges against anyone or might have accidentally offended someone.” Wei Er Ye’s investigation was still ongoing; we had to find every possible clue.